Binge eating, purging and non-purging compensatory behaviours decrease from adolescence to adulthood: A population-based, longitudinal study

Background Subclinical forms of eating disorders (ED) are highly prevalent, but relatively little is known about age trends, gender differences and distinctions among symptoms. This study investigates age trends and gender difference in binge eating, purging and non-purging compensatory behaviours (CB) and the relationship of such behaviours to psychosocial problems. Methods Data from the national representative longitudinal study "Young in Norway" (ages 14-34 years) were analysed using χ 2 tests, logistic random intercept models and analyses of covariance. Results For both genders, a decrease was found in the prevalence of CB from age 14-16 years to 23 years and over. For binging, however, a significant decrease was found only for females, whose binge eating also declined more markedly over time than did males'. A significant gender difference was detected for purging, with females at higher risk. Purging was related to particularly serious symptoms of psychosocial problems: Those who purged had significantly higher levels of appearance dissatisfaction, anxiety and depressive symptoms, alcohol consumption, self-concept instability and loneliness than those with symptoms of other forms of disordered eating. Conclusions Individuals affected by purging need to be targeted as a high-risk group. The distinction in severity among the subclinical ED may indicate the need for the reformulation of the eating disorder not otherwise specified category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V

Flexible prey handling, preference and a novel capture technique in invasive, sub-adult Chinese mitten crabs

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Genome Mining for Radical SAM Protein Determinants Reveals Multiple Sactibiotic-Like Gene Clusters

Thuricin CD is a two-component bacteriocin produced by Bacillus thuringiensis that kills a wide range of clinically significant Clostridium difficile. This bacteriocin has recently been characterized and consists of two distinct peptides, Trnβ and Trnα, which both possess 3 intrapeptide sulphur to α-carbon bridges and act synergistically. Indeed, thuricin CD and subtilosin A are the only antimicrobials known to possess these unusual structures and are known as the sactibiotics (sulplur to alpha carbon-containing antibiotics). Analysis of the thuricin CD-associated gene cluster revealed the presence of genes encoding two highly unusual SAM proteins (TrnC and TrnD) which are proposed to be responsible for these unusual post-translational modifications. On the basis of the frequently high conservation among enzymes responsible for the post-translational modification of specific antimicrobials, we performed an in silico screen for novel thuricin CD–like gene clusters using the TrnC and TrnD radical SAM proteins as driver sequences to perform an initial homology search against the complete non-redundant database. Fifteen novel thuricin CD–like gene clusters were identified, based on the presence of TrnC and TrnD homologues in the context of neighbouring genes encoding potential bacteriocin structural peptides. Moreover, metagenomic analysis revealed that TrnC or TrnD homologs are present in a variety of metagenomic environments, suggesting a widespread distribution of thuricin-like operons in a variety of environments. In-silico analysis of radical SAM proteins is sufficient to identify novel putative sactibiotic clusters

Socioeconomic status and non-fatal injuries among Canadian adolescents: variations across SES and injury measures

BACKGROUND: While research to date has consistently demonstrated that socioeconomic status (SES) is inversely associated with injury mortality in both children and adults, findings have been less consistent for non-fatal injuries. The literature addressing SES and injury morbidity among adolescents has been particularly inconclusive. To explore potential explanations for these discrepant research findings, this study uniquely compared the relationship across different measures of SES and different causes of injury (recreation versus non-recreation injuries) within a sample of Canadian adolescents. METHODS: The sample included adolescent participants (aged 12 to 19 years) in the Canadian 1996–1997 cross-sectional National Population Health Survey (n = 6967). Five SES measures (household income, two neighbourhood-level proxy measures, two parental indicators) were examined in relation to three injury outcomes (total, recreation, and non-recreation injuries) using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Among males, a clear relationship with injury was observed only for a parental SES index, which was positively associated with total and recreation injuries (odds ratios for the highest versus lowest SES category of 1.9 for total and 2.5 for recreation injuries). Among females, there was some evidence of a positive relationship between SES and injuries, particularly for a neighbourhood-level education measure with total and recreation injuries (odds ratios of 1.7 for total and 2.0 for recreation injuries). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that differences related to the measures of SES chosen and the causes of injury under study may both contribute to discrepancies in past research on SES and non-fatal injuries among adolescents. To clarify the potential SES-injury relationship among youth, the findings emphasize a need for a greater understanding of the meaning and relevance of different SES measures for adolescents, and for an exploration of the pathways through which SES may be related to injury risk

Secretion of Genome-Free Hepatitis B Virus – Single Strand Blocking Model for Virion Morphogenesis of Para-retrovirus

As a para-retrovirus, hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an enveloped virus with a double-stranded (DS) DNA genome that is replicated by reverse transcription of an RNA intermediate, the pregenomic RNA or pgRNA. HBV assembly begins with the formation of an “immature” nucleocapsid (NC) incorporating pgRNA, which is converted via reverse transcription within the maturing NC to the DS DNA genome. Only the mature, DS DNA-containing NCs are enveloped and secreted as virions whereas immature NCs containing RNA or single-stranded (SS) DNA are not enveloped. The current model for selective virion morphogenesis postulates that accumulation of DS DNA within the NC induces a “maturation signal” that, in turn, triggers its envelopment and secretion. However, we have found, by careful quantification of viral DNA and NCs in HBV virions secreted in vitro and in vivo, that the vast majority of HBV virions (over 90%) contained no DNA at all, indicating that NCs with no genome were enveloped and secreted as empty virions (i.e., enveloped NCs with no DNA). Furthermore, viral mutants bearing mutations precluding any DNA synthesis secreted exclusively empty virions. Thus, viral DNA synthesis is not required for HBV virion morphogenesis. On the other hand, NCs containing RNA or SS DNA were excluded from virion formation. The secretion of DS DNA-containing as well as empty virions on one hand, and the lack of secretion of virions containing single-stranded (SS) DNA or RNA on the other, prompted us to propose an alternative, “Single Strand Blocking” model to explain selective HBV morphogenesis whereby SS nucleic acid within the NC negatively regulates NC envelopment, which is relieved upon second strand DNA synthesis

Congruence of tissue expression profiles from Gene Expression Atlas, SAGEmap and TissueInfo databases

BACKGROUND: Extracting biological knowledge from large amounts of gene expression information deposited in public databases is a major challenge of the postgenomic era. Additional insights may be derived by data integration and cross-platform comparisons of expression profiles. However, database meta-analysis is complicated by differences in experimental technologies, data post-processing, database formats, and inconsistent gene and sample annotation. RESULTS: We have analysed expression profiles from three public databases: Gene Expression Atlas, SAGEmap and TissueInfo. These are repositories of oligonucleotide microarray, Serial Analysis of Gene Expression and Expressed Sequence Tag human gene expression data respectively. We devised a method, Preferential Expression Measure, to identify genes that are significantly over- or under-expressed in any given tissue. We examined intra- and inter-database consistency of Preferential Expression Measures. There was good correlation between replicate experiments of oligonucleotide microarray data, but there was less coherence in expression profiles as measured by Serial Analysis of Gene Expression and Expressed Sequence Tag counts. We investigated inter-database correlations for six tissue categories, for which data were present in the three databases. Significant positive correlations were found for brain, prostate and vascular endothelium but not for ovary, kidney, and pancreas. CONCLUSION: We show that data from Gene Expression Atlas, SAGEmap and TissueInfo can be integrated using the UniGene gene index, and that expression profiles correlate relatively well when large numbers of tags are available or when tissue cellular composition is simple. Finally, in the case of brain, we demonstrate that when PEM values show good correlation, predictions of tissue-specific expression based on integrated data are very accurate

Metabolomic Profiling Reveals Mitochondrial-Derived Lipid Biomarkers That Drive Obesity-Associated Inflammation

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions worldwide. Several animal models of obesity exist, but studies are lacking that compare traditional lard-based high fat diets (HFD) to “Cafeteria diets" (CAF) consisting of nutrient poor human junk food. Our previous work demonstrated the rapid and severe obesogenic and inflammatory consequences of CAF compared to HFD including rapid weight gain, markers of Metabolic Syndrome, multi-tissue lipid accumulation, and dramatic inflammation. To identify potential mediators of CAF-induced obesity and Metabolic Syndrome, we used metabolomic analysis to profile serum, muscle, and white adipose from rats fed CAF, HFD, or standard control diets. Principle component analysis identified elevations in clusters of fatty acids and acylcarnitines. These increases in metabolites were associated with systemic mitochondrial dysfunction that paralleled weight gain, physiologic measures of Metabolic Syndrome, and tissue inflammation in CAF-fed rats. Spearman pairwise correlations between metabolites, physiologic, and histologic findings revealed strong correlations between elevated markers of inflammation in CAF-fed animals, measured as crown like structures in adipose, and specifically the pro-inflammatory saturated fatty acids and oxidation intermediates laurate and lauroyl carnitine. Treatment of bone marrow-derived macrophages with lauroyl carnitine polarized macrophages towards the M1 pro-inflammatory phenotype through downregulation of AMPK and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Results presented herein demonstrate that compared to a traditional HFD model, the CAF diet provides a robust model for diet-induced human obesity, which models Metabolic Syndrome-related mitochondrial dysfunction in serum, muscle, and adipose, along with pro-inflammatory metabolite alterations. These data also suggest that modifying the availability or metabolism of saturated fatty acids may limit the inflammation associated with obesity leading to Metabolic Syndrome

Pediatric DXA: clinical applications

Normal bone mineral accrual requires adequate dietary intake of calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients; hepatic and renal activation of vitamin D; normal hormone levels (thyroid, parathyroid, reproductive and growth hormones); and neuromuscular functioning with sufficient stress upon the skeleton to induce bone deposition. The presence of genetic or acquired diseases and the therapies that are used to treat them can also impact bone health. Since the introduction of clinical DXA in pediatrics in the early 1990s, there has been considerable investigation into the causes of low bone mineral density (BMD) in children. Pediatricians have also become aware of the role adequate bone mass accrual in childhood has in preventing osteoporotic fractures in late adulthood. Additionally, the availability of medications to improve BMD has increased with the development of bisphosphonates. These factors have led to the increased utilization of DXA in pediatrics. This review summarizes much of the previous research regarding BMD in children and is meant to assist radiologists and clinicians with DXA utilization and interpretation